As A Man Thinketh
Assessment by Anna Maria Gamboa
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The main idea of the book is about the power of our thoughts, since it is clearly shown in how they function in our activities, feelings and the way we perceive things. Learning to control positively our thoughts we will be able to reach our goals, dreams and succeed living happily ever after.
This is a self-help book that calls everybody to analyze our behavior to determine if really our attitudes are consequents with our objectives, if we are capable to rule our life and lead it into a good way of living
2. What were the seven ideas which were personally most important to you and why? List these seven ideas followed by an explanation after each one as to why it was important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
The most important seven ideas, that I consider the book points, are:
* The actions taken from our thoughts. To every action there is going to be a reaction, if the action is positive, then the answer is going to be as well. If we include positive thoughts to a human being, one’s acts will be beneficial. On the other hand, if thoughts are negative, there will be trouble and suffering.
* Creative Power, Thoughts are born from circumstances. There is no luck in life. How life is meant to be for a human being is lead by the quality of their thoughts. Like Allen said, one is what one brings, what is won fairly, and not what one wants.
* Energetic Power, Thoughts are positive, they create positive actions, positive outcomes, and reflect health in our physical aspect.
* Focused Thoughts. While thoughts don’t have a defined purpose, doubts of fear come up. Which means, if we have a solid purpose in our hearts, we could easily decide and fight for what we want
* The greatest of our thoughts. Huge objectives are linked to great success and sacrifices.
* The value of our ideals. The more we care about our ideals, the easier will be to reach our dreams, even if the road is hard to walk on.
* Self-control, the more peace we have inside, the strongest we will be to reach our goals and treat people well
These seven points mentions by Allen are in fact true and ready to put them in practice. Personally, at the beginning of my life, I felt that I was following these steps, purifying my thoughts spontaneously. While I was in a small fishbowl during my childhood and youth, I did not have any problem facing the challenges that came up.
At university and during working days, everything was different. The different kind of people I came across made me react irrationally to situations presented. If it was something difficult, I would avoid it, and be uneasy about it, showing no interest at all. Some other time, I would manage to gather my will and energy in something I would really like to get.
This behavior, sadly repeats itself frequently in a lot of people, families and organizations, especially in my country, Bolivia. People are afraid to have responsibilities and commitment. People’s behavior is not at all consequently with what they say, feel or think. Enterprises develop complicated work environment, unethical and immoral organizational cultures, where they price lies and punish the truth. It is like a nightmare, but it is reality.
We live under the opposite law to the one expressed in Allen’s book. For instance, poverty, corruption, discrimination are products of the high quality of our thoughts. However, dreaming is easy, everybody has ambitious objectives that would like to achieve, just a few have the courage to seriously fight for them eagerly and faithfully.
Today’s world seems to be going round and round in a total inconsistency, where the ones who have great ideas, feelings, and achieve great actions, instead of being priced and motivated constantly, they find obstacles and they are even exposed to ridicule by selfish and envious people.
Ironically, people get upset about other energies that make us feel down and lose track of our paths. I do believe it is important to self analyze and establish some priorities to follow. Let’s keep in mind the seven steps of self-purification and self- governess purposed by Allen to reach the success we deserve to have.
Let’s remember that it is truly important to look where we are pointing to and not where we are pointing at.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you to create a better world? If so, how?
I think it helped me from the first moment I read it, because it made me analyze myself and analyze the results of my actions. “AS A MAN THINKET” is a mental exercise book that I have to learn and practice everyday. I do consider that all around the world there is nobody than oneself, therefore, the power of our minds has no limit and we only have to try and we will realize what we are capable of. As long as we don’t keep postponing our dreams, learn to value ourselves, and to prioritize our positive ambitions, we will easily generate a change in the whole world
It is important to practice everyday positive feelings and optimistic thoughts to change the way people think. It is also important and healthy to look behind to our childhood y remember how we used to be astonished by the smallest thing, like the outrageous energy we use to have to do things with liveliness and interest, like our dreams used to mean something more than our entire lives. No doubt that if we looked at the world like a child does, it would be enough to help our minds to be purified.
In order to create a better world, I do think that we should look at our inner self and meditate about it, then we should remember our childhood and last we should learn more from children.
If we learnt to drive ourselves correctly in life, then that is how we would do it with people, and with our families and the whole of the society.
A true leader acts consequently, has clear objectives, values its ideals, focuses its efforts to them and hardly fights to get them.
4. Quotes: Are there any statements which the author made that particularly got your attention? If so, please quote them and comment as to why they were important to you.
“In all human affairs there are efforts, and there are results, and the strength of the effort is the measure of the result”.
Every sacrifice has its price and the more effort we put in it, that’s how we are going to get the result. This is an extremely valid thought since many times we limit ourselves to act according to what we know and what we think we can do. Nevertheless, we do not value our capacity and our real mental strength, limiting our effort and will to do what we want to.
It is necessary to learn how to value our ideals, so our thoughts and feelings can focus automatically in way to get everything we want.
If we want to be leaders, we should learn to sacrifice ourselves and teach the ones who will come after us that with effort there will not be obstacles that will stop us from getting any of our objectives proposed.
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and, if so, why?
No, there is not.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
No, it did not.
7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so, please comment.
“Man is buffeted by circumstances so long as he believes himself to be the creature of outside conditions, but when he realizes that he is a creative power, and that he may command the hidden soil and seeds of his being out of which circumstances grow, he then becomes the rightful master of himself.”
It is not the fact that I disagree with this idea, but sometimes, people are created by external reasons, and even if they can control their thoughts perfectly, they will not be able to do much, since they know that the law of life can also generate some disturbance that we will not understand.
For instance, the people in Africa, Uganda, countries where people face political, religious, cultural and geographical conflicts with adverse climate change, therefore, victims of extreme poverty. What kind of positive thought can they have to encourage them to reach happiness and success?
Sometimes it is necessary to fight according to what we have and the things we posses.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 10
B. How helpful were the contents? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 10
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 10
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Assessment by Anna Maria Gamboa
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The main idea of this book is SELF IMPROVEMENT, understood as the untiring fight to get and reach our objectives, dreams and wishes.
The author tells us a story about a seagull that is not understood and rejected by others from its same group, just because Jonathan would considerate that the ability to fly was a wonderful gift and not just a way of surviving in order to get food. However, the rejection, and incomprehension were not an obstacle for him to develop that gift in an extraordinary way that none in the group would have ever done it. He managed to inspire other birds to fly the same way by making his flying abilities better. This experience permitted the seagull to know his deeper feelings of love, kindness, responsibility, will, and service. In other words, thanks to these abilities he managed to know himself and find the enough freedom to reach his ideal. On the other hand, the book precisely narrates the characteristics that one must have to become a true leader, a real life master.
2. What were the seven ideas which were personally most important to you and why? List these seven ideas followed by an explanation after each one as to why it was important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
The most important seven ideas, that I consider the book points, are:
i. Perseverance, Constancy and resistance to improve step by step our weaknesses in regard to the obstacles we come across in life.
ii. Will, Enough energy to reach our goals.
iii. Courage, Have the enough courage to face different risks or challenges while we fight to get the purposes we plan.
iv. Perfectioning, Constant fight to reach an ideal.
v. Forgiveness, To forget wrongful actions committed to oneself, because of the incapability to understand our ideals.
vi. Teaching, Make our experiences and knowledge a guide, so others can easily reach their goals and ideals.
vii. Freedom, It is the work done with passion and responsibility to reach our objectives
These seven ideas were the most important to me because, logically and consistently, they are shown to be the ideal links for SELF IMPROVEMENT. We will not be able to reach our objectives as we visualize them without perseverance, will and courage. Therefore, it is important to forgive, because it is not worth to find guilt where there is none, and only misunderstanding that can be solved sharing positive experiences and delightful knowledge that will help everybody with their everyday life. Finally, it is necessary to understand to get an ideal, we should think about the concept of freedom, since the highest goal is the sacrifice of oneself, giving up the material world and get to know our inner self; know that we want to do it and that we can do it.
Personally, I used to think that SELF IMPROVEMENT was just about your own will and the courage to do things perfect. Now I understand that in order to reach an ideal it is required more effort, concentration and understanding.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you to create a better world? If so, how?
These ideas will guide me to be more objective to define precisely what I want, and to be more delicate to do what I want. I think I can help to create a better world by using the examples of my attitudes, this is because through them, like the book mentions, I could teach people what to do to get a deeper personal development.
The world needs people that practice continuous improvement with themselves, so they could improve the world around them.
4. Quotes: Are there any statements which the author made that particularly got your attention? If so, please quote them and comment as to why they were important to you.
“You will be ready to begin to fly up and know the meaning of kindness and of love”.
This phrase called my attention because when you feel passion about something and have the will to do what you wish for, making efforts that deep inside mean no tiredness at all. Even more they are good actions of love and kindness to reach a dream.
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and, if so, why?
No, there is not.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
No, the book did not.
7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so, please comment.
The Loneliness and misunderstanding that Jonathan has to face to reach his goals. Both are really hard feelings that one has to fight when one wants to get its ideal.
This situation a daily presented at organizations. Many people have to quit their jobs because their manager or supervisors do not pay attention to their initiatives. Many employees were frustrated because their creative work does not receive the right support, respect and interest from their superiors.
Many countries in Latin-America live a very strong leak of intellectual resource. Many people migrate to other countries to find opportunities related to a better quality of life. Which means that people is looking for a better access to educational services and a good health care and jobs where they find economical stability and give opportunities to the personal and professional development.
Quality or Quantity? These are the key facts that have created confusion between Latin-American governments and enterprises, therefore the effort to provide true development opportunities are nonexistent. It seems that countries like Bolivia still believe that development is created with quantity and not quality. The purpose is to raise the hope of life, raise the programs of basic literacy, build more hospitals, give more pensions to the poor and people with disabilities, offer different types of credits to support the creation of new enterprises and new production and with this minimize the numbers of unemployment. The objective is to survive, yet not live properly.
As it happened in the story, with seagulls and their only purpose is to live, and for that the only thing they have to do is learn how to fly and eat, that is how we find Bolivia and other countries. It is from there where the misunderstanding and the lack of vision and understanding from what it is really needed.
It is important for us to open our eyes, and instead of neglecting people because they have different ideas. Let’s listen to their true demands, needs and wishes. Beginning from the initiative and creativity from others is that one can understand and find what their real objectives are and how they can get to them.
It is not easy to listen to everybody, but because of it, Jonathan’s story invites us to see inside our hearts to visualize our perfect purpose in life. And like him, we will find good guides, or leaders that share the same interest and could teach us to develop our capacities and improve them.
Moreover, if we follow the advices to those guides, put effort, trust, courage and perseverance, we will be able to reach the unreachable. And similarly to how we have been thought to develop our capacities and improve them, we will teach others to do the same and even to those who gave their back to us, just like Jonathan the seagull did.
In order to get self improvement, one has to make sacrifices, but it also means to develop some feelings of deep love and self steam, passion and forgiveness to make our dreams come true, things that can go along with our spiritual growth.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 7
B. How helpful were the contents? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 7
D. Would you recommend it to others? 8
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 8